Breaking News

Heritage
Bank Plc, Nigeria’s Most Innovative Banking Services Provider, is set
to restore Nigeria lost glory in the agricultural sector and reposition
the country
as the highest oil palm producer in the world with its recent signing
of N232million Pilot phase of Out-growers Agreement with Biase
Plantations Limited (BPL) and its joint venture partner, PZ Wilmar
Limited.
The pact was sealed at the bank’s Headquarter, weekend, which saw the
MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr.Ifie Sekibo, represented by Mr. Jude Monye,
Executive Director, Business Banking and; Mrs. Adaeze Udensi, Executive
Director, Retail & SME Bank signing on behalf
of the bank while Mr. Ahmad Mustaffa Goh, General Manager with BPL
signed on behalf of his company.
Speaking at the occasion, Sekibo, MD/CEO, Heritage Bank, said the need
for the partnership became imperative in view of the importance of
agriculture to the sustainable development of Nigeria. Sekibo said that
the initiative was taken to support the effort
by the government towards diversifying the aggregate economy.
He assured the management of Biase Plantations Limited that Heritage
Bank would not relent in giving the necessary financial and investment
advisory support the latter required for the success of the agricultural
scheme in different parts of the country, adding
that the policy thrust of the present Federal Government is about
economic development and diversification.L-R
Mr. Jude Monye, Executive Director Business Banking; Mrs. Adaeze
Udensi, Executive Director; Retail & SME Bank; who both represented
the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, Mr. Ifie Sekibo;
the General Manager, Biase Plantations Limited (BPL), Mr. Ahmad
Mustaffa Goh, Out-grower Officer BPL, Miss Solange Wankwi and Corporate
Affairs Manager, Mr. Antigha Essien Esiet, at the signing ceremony of
N232million Pilot Out-growers’ Agreement between the
Bank and Biase Plantations Limited at Heritage Bank’s Head Office,
Lagos.

On Behalf Biase Plantations Limited, Mr. Goh said, “Today marks a
milestone in the actualization of a long dream by Biase Plantations
Limited. It has always been our priority to improve the socio-economic
status of our landlord communities by developing an
out-growers scheme that will build the resilience of local farmers to
changing agricultural trend. “He added that the agreement between BPL
and Heritage Bank Plc was first of its kind in Nigeria, remarking that
they see this as readiness on the part of the
bank to partner and grow with the vision of the Company.
According to him, the out growers’ scheme is targeted at developing a
sustainable small holder’s scheme which will eventually increase the
product supply.
Group Head, Agric Finance & Export of Heritage Bank, Olugbenga Awe
explained that the pilot scheme covers 45 farmers grouped into 4
co-operatives Society with a land mass of 150 hectares and the funds to
be administered is from BPL.Mrs.
Adaeze Udensi, Executive Director; Retail & SME Bank; Jude Monye,
Executive Director Business Banking; who both represented the MD/CEO of
Heritage Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo; presenting
a gift to the General Manager, Biase Plantations Limited (BPL), Mr.
Ahmad Mustaffa Goh, at the signing ceremony of N232million Pilot
Out-growers’ Agreement between the Bank and BPL at Heritage Bank’s Head
Office, Lagos.

Specifically, he stated that Heritage Bank will leverage its expertise
in agribusiness to organise the outgrowers and administer the fund
bearing in mind the peculiarity of Oil Palm as a cash crop with long
gestation period. He also mentioned that the programme
will ensure financial inclusion and empower the farmers, create market
access for the farmers and increase their yield through trainings on
sustainability and good agricultural practices.
PZ Wilmar Ltd is a joint venture between PZ Cussons International, UK
and Wilmar International Ltd, Singapore. In Nigeria, Wilmar is involved
in oil palm cultivation with a total land hectare of 26,500 located in
Akamkpa, Biase, Odukpani and Akpabuyo local
government areas of Cross River State.
Other Wilmar’s business activities globally include Oilseed crushing,
edible oil refining, sugar milling and refining, specialty fat,
oleochemical, bodiesel and fertilizer manufacturing and grain
processing.